Thirty Day Challenges
Thirty Day Challenges: Take Them or Leave Them
All posts tagged: training
Mother’s Days. Adventures Are On!
Mother’s Day doesn’t seem right unless I am on the Northern California Coastline unplugged and with my dudes soaking up all the outdoor adventures we can squeeze into a long weekend of car camping. Some moms long for breakfast in bed, pampering of the nails, or brunching fine-dining style. Those things are great but, me? Nah, I ask for a family adventure. Even car camping is an adventure when you add kids and a new puppy to the mix! I wouldn’t have Mother’s Day any other way right now. Last year we opted for a Mother’s Day of regularly scheduled little league and a nice home cooked dinner. It was great but, we all longed to be under the oak tree near the stream hiking, biking, trail running and roasting s’mores. So this year we went back to the tent. This time of year Mama is usually training for some kind of mountain running/scramble race. My sights are on running the Broken Arrow 26km which, covers some of Squaw Valley’s famous terrain ascending to elevation of 8750 …
Three Principles to Rethinking the Workout to Get It Done
I have four full-time jobs. I am mom to two beautiful boys, I am in a committed relationship, and I have a career in nutrition. Each one of these things requires my full attention. How on earth do I have time to train for trail races in the mountains? This isn’t a question of why I feel compelled to add one more “thing to do” into the mix of overwhelm that sometimes spins around me. It is about prioritizing self-care, soul care, to diffuse the overwhelm so I can properly prioritize my attentions. Adventures in the mountains, kicking up dirt on the trails, breathing in that low-oxygen air, and moving in whatever silly ways my legs will take me feeds me so that I am able to show up to “work” each day. I must train and prepare to adventure out in the wilds. How do I possibly squeeze it in? I re-think my workouts, which also brings a little urban adventure into my day! Three key principles to rethinking a workout: Get creative. For example, I …
Piecing Together the 26.2 Puzzle and Trusting the Process
Training for a marathon is like building a puzzle. Trusting that it will all come together I piece together specific workouts, nutrition, and rest. My last two weeks of training have been light. One week of light running is built into my four week training to help me rejuvenate and absorb the training I have done the weeks prior. I take it easy with light jogs, body work, and rest. This time however required two “light weeks” to absorb a pre-Boston Marathon visit to Boston to celebrate the life and legacy of Nana Mary, the nurturing matriarch of our family who’s nearly ninety-eight years on this planet have had a lasting impact on my life. It seems counter intuitive that not running will actually help me (not hurt) better achieve my goal of running Hopkinton to Boylston at the Boston Marathon, but it works when accompanied with the other pieces of the puzzle and my job is to just trust the process. The loss of Nana has had a physical and emotional toll that demanded …
Making It to Boston Marathon My Way
Qualifying for the Boston Marathon is an achievement I have computed the math on many times over many long runs. Not too long ago I tested my limits on the a half-marathon road-run to see if I was capable of at least running a half-marathon at the full Boston-qualifying pace of 3:40 or 3:45 (depending on the year I was looking at). Yes, indeed I could run a BQ pace for the thirteen point one distance. So then what? Soon after that experience my running sights were set not longer and faster, but rather higher. I began training on the trail for higher elevation mountain races and haven’t looked to a road marathon since. Then Clif Bar & Company opened the door to the one road marathon possibility I might consider if I could do it without risk of too much injury, Boston Marathon. I have attended Boston Marathon festivities without actually running the event a couple of times. I have run the Boston Athletic Association 5k twice to make that historic turn onto Boylston street …
Periods, Running, and a Household of Boys
For years I have fought with the natural cycle of my body. My period would arrive and I would be like, “Ugggh one more thing to manage around everything else I am doing.” Now instead of resisting and fighting with my body’s natural cycle and the inconveniences it brings to running, mothering, and working…… I work with it. Once a month my cycle acts like a siphon of much needed energy for my brain and muscles. It stresses my nerves, patience and hijacks my sense of humor (ask my husband about that one!). During this regular scheduled monthly occurrence I am afraid to be around anyone for fear that I have been possessed by someone unrecognizable to the outside world who will wreak havoc on my skills and relationships. Then, one day the light bulb came on. I don’t know if it was when I was trying to manage stuff in the bathroom with my little boys busting in and out, or if it was talking with my amazing coach that enlightened me to to stop fighting …
Some Days Training Looks Like This
Mothering two active and enthusiastic boys requires more strength and fitness than running often does. I am still unclear if training keeps me fit for mothering or if mothering keeps me fit for training. Pushing ninety-pounds of boy + big wheel + snack rickshaw-style from swimming lessons to little league at eight-minute mile pace so we aren’t late for the game is certainly strength building. Driving is of course an option if I want to spend my entire Saturday sitting in the car, sitting at the lesson, and then more sitting at the game.Using human power to get where we need to go as often more fun, faster (no searching for parking!), and efficient. Run with them then stretch on the sidelines seems to be an all-around win for all! Running home after running to swimming lessons. Noah has great time speeding there on his big wheel with me next to him pushing the Burley for his inevitable rickshaw-style ride home (above)Then there is this workout option: A grocery store “run” becomes an excellent conditioning workout. Sometimes …
The Passion of an Athlete
Anyone can be an athlete. It is true. Don’t give me excuses like there is not enough time, you only have one leg, or you can’t catch a ball. When someone says to me “Oh, I could never do that” – ‘that’ being something seemingly out of their reach like running a five kilometer race, climbing a mountain, getting up every morning and running ten miles on a tread mill – I never believe it. My response is always, “yes you could.” In my work I get to meet people doing amazing things. They are world class athletes gifted with a body and mind where limitations are not boundaries but rather challenges to work through to get where they want to go. See here for one of my favorite inspirations. No, I don’t climb but am none-the-less inspired. I used to get so nervous talking to these celebrity athletes because they seemed so untouchable, like a movie star. Then as I worked with them more I start being less star-struck and seeing them as people …
Why we run for more
There is that moment where you know you are about to accomplish something really big. Something you have thought about often, worked towards, or dreamed of doing. You realize you’re doing it and you grin from ear to ear; and maybe even tears roll down your cheeks. At CLIF we call this Meet the Moment.After Eric was born I did not begin running again for a long time. It was one of many things that fell away because I only had enough strength, attention, energy, and focus for him. I was barely capable of speaking or eating let alone running. But two months after he came home, running was calling me back and I answered.It was an overcast day in February in the Richmond district of San Francisco, our home at the time. It probably took me longer to put my running clothes on than it did to actually run. I was apprehensive, afraid to leave Eric’s side even in the capable hands of his Dadda. You see, I watched him, held him, fed him …
Mommas ridge training update
At the 3 hour mark with 4 miles left back to my car. Then picking up recovery au lait on the way home! Redwood Regional Park is a trail oasis!